Alpha-Amanitin

Early experiments demonstrated that actinomycin D and alpha-amanitin could block induction of calbindin-D28K by l,25(OH)2D3 [9]. It was later demonstrated that l,25(OH)2D3 was able to stimulate general RNA synthesis in the chick intestine [11] as well as specifically inducing calbindin-D28K mRNA [12]. In addition,... 

The mode of action of mushroom-produced mycotoxins varies considerably. Alpha amanitin, amatoxin produced by some species of Amanita, is a class A poison that acts by inhibiting a critical nuclear polymerase that enables the cell to make protein. Once the function of this RNA polymerase is curtailed, basic life processes cease. Attempts to kill alpha amanitin with antibodies have proven to be even more harmful to patients than the poison itself. Most forms of mushroom poisoning can be treated with rapid lavage (induced vomiting) or medically approved ingestion of charcoal to absorb the toxin before it is absorbed into the stomach. 

Jehl F, Gallion C, Birckel P, Jaeger A, Flesch F, Minck R. Determination of alpha-amanitin and beta-amanitin in human biological fluids by high-performance liquid chromatography. Anal Biochem 1985 149 35-42... 

Gundala, S., Wells, L.D., Milliano, M.T., Talkad, V., Luxon, B.A. and Neuschwander-Tetri, B.A. (2004) The hepatocellular bile acid transporter Ntcp facilitates uptake of the lethal mushroom toxin alpha-amanitin. Archives of Toxicology, 78, 68-73. 

Thuillier, V., Brun, I., Sentenac, A., and Werner, M. (1996). Mutations in the alpha amanitin conserved domain of the largest subunit of yeast RNA polymerase III affect pausing, RNA cleavage and transcriptional transitions. EMBO J. 15, 618-629. 

C. Defendenti, E. Bonacina, M. Mauroni and L. Gelosa, Validation of a high performance liquid chromatographic method for alpha-amanitin determination in urine, Forensic Sci. Int., 1998, 92, 59-68. 

Bushnell DA, Cramer P, Kombeig RD (2002) Structural basis of transcription alpha-amanitin-RNA polymerase 11 cocrystal at 2.8 A resolution. PNatl Acad Sci U S A 99 1218-1222... 

Maurer, H. H. Kraemer, T. Ledvinka, O. Schmitt, C. J. Weber, A. A. 1997. Gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) and liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (LC-MS) in toxicological analysis. Studies on the detection of clobenzorex and its metabolites within a systematic toxicological analysis procedure by GC-MS and by immunoassay and studies on the detection of alpha- and beta-amanitin in urine by atmospheric pressure ionization electrospray LC-MS. J. Chromatogr. B Biomed. Sci Appl., 689,81-89. 

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